Cherry Blossoms Falling
by Roxy Parkington
Summary: To put it in simple terms, this is the tale of two couples, unrequited love, and one night that will change them forever.


Cherry Blossoms Falling

The Festival of the Island Elements was eleven-year-old Karol Rose's favorite holiday after Christmas because she loved Shamouti Island's traditions, but this year would be different. True, she wasn't playing the role of the festival maiden like her sixteen-year-old sister Aria had for the past few years, but she was in love and that was enough to make any girl happy. Now she stood before the mirror in the room she shared with Aria, making sure that her short brown hair wasn't out of place like usual. Karol paused in brushing her hair, bit her lower lip, then started over. No, no, it wasn't right, not for someone as special as…**him**.

The older of the two sisters came in, looking radiant in the festival maiden costume. Aria grinned at Karol's concentration. "Aren't you the little vain one? I've never seen you pay so much attention to your hair before," the redheaded girl with dark green eyes observed. "What's the occasion?" Karol, shy by nature, grinned at her sister's query.

"Aw, it's nothing, I just wanted to look nice for the festival," Karol answered. "I'm done now, though. Does Dad want us down there?" she asked, dropping the hairbrush with a clatter.

"Yes, Mom's already gone to lay out the food for the feast in the pavilion." The two girls headed for the door and went downstairs to the front of the house where their father Ivan was waiting. He wasn't as young as he used to be; large amounts of gray were slowly taking over his brown hair and mustache, but there was a spunk in his eyes that seemed ageless to Karol. He smiled at his two daughters as they approached.

"You look lovely, Karol," he said softly. Karol had chosen a short white dress with a hibiscus flower pattern as her outfit for the ceremony and blushed at her father's compliment. It really didn't matter what Dad thought, just so long as Jonathan thought she was…

"Thank you, Dad," Aria smiled; apparently Dad had just complimented her as well. Karol shook herself free of daydreams as her father pulled open the front door.

"May I have your permission to escort two lovely ladies to the Festival of the Island Elements? It's quite a sight to see!"

"Certainly," Aria answered, taking one of her dad's arms while Karol took the other. The small family descended the front porch steps and walked in the soft white sand of the beach, taking in the beauty of the early evening. The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon and it looked quite tranquil with the ocean crashing onto the beach in a never-ending rhythm. In the distance, Karol could see the village pavilion aglow with the light of lanterns; their mother was lighting the last of the lanterns as they approached.

"I like your choice of clothes, girls," Ashley Rose said finally as she looked her two daughters over. "You'd better get backstage before the feast begins, Aria. You know how much the entire village loves to see you dance."

"Yes, but you forget that it took me years to dance and play the ocarina perfectly," Aria replied with a slight laugh. She turned her attention to Karol, ruffling her sister's brown hair. "One day, little sister, you'll be up there like me, dancing and making people smile."

"I hope I'm as good a dancer as you," Karol replied with a grin, lifting her eyes from the conversation at hand and scanning the pavilion for a glimpse of Jonathan. She saw him bent over some fruit, laughing uproariously at a joke his friend had told him. What words, what phrases brought that sparkle into his dark blue eyes? She hoped she could find the right words that would cause him to confess his feelings too… As always when she thought of him, her thoughts and her lips began to wander.

"Oh, Jonathan, I…I don't know what to say!" she exclaimed under her breath with rapture. "So you feel the same as I do?" It was only then that she realized her mother was staring at her oddly.

"Karol, dear, if you want to talk to Jonathan he's over there," Ashley said, nodding in the direction that Karol's gaze had been lingering. "Hurry up, we've only got a few minutes before Aria comes onstage." No, now was not the time to go out and blather, especially not in front of older boys like thirteen-year-old Jonathan. She blushed again, trying to find the right excuse.

"Can I go sit with Maren and her family? We haven't seen each other for a week," Karol said, eyeing her green-haired friend who was wearing jeans, boots, and a simple t-shirt. Ashley rolled her eyes.

"Fine, just go," she answered with a wave of her hand as Karol sped off toward Maren's table.

"Hi, this fruit is delicious, want some?" Maren asked, offering her friend an orange. Karol accepted the offer and bit into the orange, tasting the awesome flavor of island fruit on her tongue.

"Nothing beats Shamouti Island fruit," Karol declared in a giddy tone as she licked the last of the fruit from her lips. Maren grinned.

"Agreed," she proclaimed as her eyes shifted to the empty stage. "I hope your sister gives as awesome a performance as last year. She's perfected hypnotism to an art."

"Aria has a way of doing that, but I've seen her trip and fall while she was rehearsing this dance. It's amusing to watch," Karol giggled, catching sight of Aria's veil from behind the stage. "Shhh, here she comes." Maren fell silent and what followed were five minutes of bliss, where the audience was hanging between the worlds of reality and their dreams. Karol had enough nerve to turn in her seat to see Jonathan's reaction and was amused to see a glazed stare on his face, his spoonful of peas halfway to his mouth.

Karol also had no way of knowing that a young man named Charles was hypnotized by Aria in many ways. He had been coming here for years now; tonight would be the night he would sweep Aria off her feet and make her the happiest girl on Shamouti Island.

The Chosen One ceremony came after Aria's dance and Jonathan was picked this year. Karol watched him sail away to Fire, Ice, and Thunder Isle, and then joined in the cheering, songs, and dancing when he returned several hours later. As the families began to disperse and return to their homes at midnight, Karol finally got up the nerve to touch Jonathan's arm. She could feel her knees shake as his penetrating blue eyes rested on her.

"Yes, Karol?" he asked, no trace of teasing in his face even as his friends passed by and snickered at the girl hanging on his arm. "Is there something you need?" His head turned to where Aria, Ashley, and Ivan were waiting, obviously annoyed that Karol was holding them up from returning home.

"Can you come with me for a minute? I need to speak with you in private," she said, astounded that she was able to get the words out. Jonathan was taken aback by the younger girl's seriousness, but nevertheless decided to follow her into the darkness just outside the pavilion. The only light came from the dying torches and Karol's nervousness had reached its peak.

"What is it, Karol? Is something wrong?" Jonathan asked finally as Karol felt herself blushing again.

"Darn it, I'm not sure how to say this…" she muttered, gazing at her pale hands.

"Take your time," Jonathan said with a grin. "We have the entire night before us."

"Trust me, it won't take **that** long." A burst of confidence overcame her and she was bold enough to reach for his hands. "I…I love you, Jonathan. Ever since I saw you, you've never left my mind, but I was afraid to tell you how I felt. Do you…feel the same?" she said, bowing her head and staring at Jonathan's tanned hands.

The older boy opposite her was at a loss for words. He had no idea that such a quiet girl had tender feelings, but he was unsure how to say no without breaking her heart. He lifted Karol's chin until her turquoise eyes, so full of hope, were looking at him. "Karol, I know you care about me very much, but it just wouldn't be right to have you as my girlfriend. I'm leaving Shamouti Island for good tomorrow and I probably won't return. Long distance relationships never work." Jonathan didn't have the heart to tell her that he was in love with Sabrina Viyani, the eleven-year-old tourist from Johto; he had done enough to hurt her already.

"We could run away, Jonathan!" Karol protested, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle. "Then the age difference wouldn't matter to either of us."

"It's not that simple, Karol," he said softly. There was no avoiding the obvious by now. "I'm in love with someone else and it just wouldn't be right. Your family's waiting for you. Go on," he whispered, nudging her in the direction of the pavilion. She turned and raced toward her family, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Thanks for breaking my heart, Jonathan," Karol muttered angrily.

Neither Mom, Dad, or Aria had inquired about Karol's tears and she knew it was for the best. If they had known she was in love with a boy two years older than herself, the teasing would never end. Once the family returned to an empty house, Karol did her best to soothe her bleeding heart by finding solitude in sleep. She dreamed of happy endings instead of the nightmare she encountered at the pavilion, but was jerked awake when she heard Aria leave her own bed. What could her sister be doing at this time of night?

Curiosity killed the Persian, they say, and Karol was no exception to the rule. In minutes she had thrown on a t-shirt and shorts before following her sister downstairs. Aria was already dressed and awake, a duffel bag clutched tightly in her hand. Karol kept following her, even when she opened the front door and raced toward the beach. A small sailboat was anchored in the shallow ocean water, so Karol quickly hid in the sand dunes to see what was going on.

"Do you have everything you need?" a male voice asked softly as he took her bag. "I got this boat just for us. Once we reach Johto, you'll finally be free."

"Oh, Charles, I don't know what to say…" Aria trailed off, throwing her arms around the young man's neck. "This is the best gift I could ever receive."

"Your love is the only gift I need," Charles replied, giving her a swift kiss on the cheek. "Come on, let's go before anyone can catch us." He took her hand and led her aboard, amazed at what he was doing. Normally he was paranoid about such things like this, but Aria's headstrong will had convinced him that running away was possible. He had known her for many years now and this was the night she would be set free.

"Don't worry," Aria said as Charles boarded the boat after her. "They're not going to get us."

"I certainly hope not," he replied with a wry smile before pulling away from Shamouti Island forever. He could barely believe his luck; they were running away and he was marrying Aria once they reached Johto. She smiled at him before racing into his arms. Charles held her close as the tears soaked his shirt.

"You're free, Aria Rose…free," he whispered before going down below to steer the sailboat.

Meanwhile, on the beach, Karol could only stare in shock, disbelief, and rage as the sailboat became little more than a speck on the horizon. What right had this older boy, this stranger, to steal her sister away on a boat in the middle of the night? Even though she hated it when Aria teased her about various things, she still admired and loved her sister very much. How dare he hurt them, how dare he take Aria away just like that!

She clenched her fists in rage, the salty water soaking her jeans as she raced into the crashing surf, longing to pull that guy back from his sailboat and give him a sound thrashing. 'He must be a stuck-up bad boy because he doesn't care about anyone but himself…and Aria,' she thought. 'If he ever comes back, I'll kill him myself.'

Karol stomped up the shoreline and back to the house, where the news must be broken to her parents. She was too angry for tears now, but one day she would give Charles a piece of her mind for what he had done. After hearing that his daughter had run away, Ivan sank into a deep depression and finally stated that they were never to speak of Aria again. Gone were her dancing, her bright smile, the life that illuminated each room she entered. Karol stepped in as her replacement and life went on, as unchanging as the ocean that battered the shore.

The one place Aria lived on was in Karol's heart, where her spirit never died.


End file.
